Ōgaki is located at a strategic point on the road from
Mino Province to
Ōmi Province and
Kyoto and was hotly contested in the
Sengoku period between
Saitō Dōsan and
Oda Nobuhide. Under
Oda Nobunaga,
Ujiie Naotomo followed by his son
Ujiie Naomasa ruled the area. Under
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the area was entrusted to
Ikeda Tsuneoki,
Toyotomi Hidetsugu,
Toyotomi Hidenaga,
Katō Mitsuyasu, Hitotsuyanagi Naosuke,
Toyotomi Hidekatsu and finally to Itō Morimasa. In 1600, Itō Morimasa was
daimyō of a 30,000
koku domain, which was a problem for
Tokugawa Ieyasu since Itō was a staunch supporter of
Ishida Mitsunari and Ōgaki was a very short distance from
Sekigahara. However, Itō also proved to be an inept commander and failed to attack the Tokugawa armies when they were the most vulnerable, and as a result was dispossessed after the
Battle of Sekigahara. In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu established Ōgaki Domain, installing Ishikawa Yasumichi as
daimyō with a
kokudaka of 50,000
koku. The Ishikawa clan were transferred to
Hita Domain in
Bungo Province in 1616 as a reward for their services at the
Battle of Osaka. They were replaced by a cadet branch of the
Hisamatsu-Matsudaira from 1616 to 1624, followed by the Okabe clan from 1624 to 1633, and then by another cadet branch of the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira from 1633 to 1635. In 1635,
Toda Ujikane was transferred to Ōgaki from
Amagasaki Domain in
Settsu Province, and the
kokudaka of the domain was increased to 100,000
koku. The Toda clan would continue to rule Ōgaki until the
Meiji restoration. Toda Ujikane was instrumental in opening new rice fields, irrigation and flood control measures, planting of forests and reforming the remuneration system for his retainers. He also maintained Ōgaki Castle. under the 3rd
daimyō , Toda Ujisada, 3000
koku of new rice fields were given to his brother, Toda Ujishige, which when combined with the 7000
koku already under his name, placed him over the threshold to become
daimyō of a cadet domain, the
Ōgaki Shinden Domain. This sub-domain would also endure to the Meiji restoration. The 6th
daimyō, Toda Ujihide, attempted to implement fiscal reforms, which failed due to a peasant's revolt in 1766. The 7th
daimyō, Toda Ujinori, served as a
rōjū under
Tokugawa Ienari during a time of increasing Russian incursions into Japanese northern waters. The 8th
daimyō, Toda Ujitsune, founded the
han school, "Chidokan" in 1840. The 9th
daimyō, Toda Ujimasa reformed the domain's military in 1856. The 10th
daimyō, Toda Ujiakira attempted further reforms, but was frustrated by the
Ansei Purge. The final
daimyō,
Toda Ujitaka was branded an "enemy of the crown" after the
Battle of Toba-Fushimi in the
Boshin War, but was able to defect to the imperial side and served as messenger of the court to other domains along the
Tōsandō to urge them to submit. He was later awarded a 30,000
koku increase by the
Meiji government, but soon afterwards Ōgaki Domain became Ōgaki Prefecture due to the
abolition of the han system, and was then absorbed into the new
Gifu Prefecture. ==Bakumatsu period holdings==